


Chorus of the Soul

by rainbowRamen



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: A bit of angst at the beginning, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Reona's pretty edgy in this fic ngl, This is just my interpretation of Reona's backstory, We stand for PareChu rights, but it's all good later!, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21533626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowRamen/pseuds/rainbowRamen
Summary: Ever since her mother's death, Reona, a lonely but talented pianist, came to despise the piano, but it's all she's ever good for. So, she lives her life playing as a live musician at a cafe, and every day is as dull as the previous.That all changes when she meets an energetic, confident music producer who's somehow younger than her, but still seems more refined and professional than Reona's ever been in her entire life.
Relationships: Nyubara Reona/Tamade Chiyu
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Chorus of the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to one of my best friends, Laeteria! We're both absolute RAS stans, she is an AMAZING PERSON! I really enjoyed writing this ^_^
> 
> Do take note that a majority of this fic (if not the whole thing) is purely my interpretation of their backstories, please don't take this as canon. Characterizing Reona in particular was tough, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Happy birthday, Lae! I hope this lives up to your expectations, and happy reading! <3

Bright scarlet eyes glisten with tears as the girl, sitting alone in a corner of her overly colorful room, hugs her knees tighter. Her face betrays the usual mask she wears in front of everyone - only when she is alone, is her mask of happiness and cheer allowed to crumble away like nothing. People often fail to see what's beyond it; a vulnerable young girl whose only talent is playing the keyboard, and she hates the instrument. She just does it for a job and nothing else. That's all she's good for. She'd lost her interest in everything life had to offer her a long time ago, after all.

Her long pastel-streaked hair is a mess, and her face is stained with tears, the residue of said tears leaving her feeling sticky and disgusting. It's been like this for a while now. Although her father hears her from outside the door, he says nothing to her. Is she so repulsive that even her father hates her? A part of her wonders if that's the case, she wouldn't be surprised if it is. After all, it's all her fault that her mother's gone. Ever since _that_ incident, she lost all the respect she had for herself, and for the piano. The sorrow she feels goes so deep, it's as if she's being torn apart by the storm of emotions.

But still, she endures. She faithfully wears a mask of joy and sparkles, so she won't bother her friends. She has not much family to speak of; her father doesn't care about her affairs and probably never will. She bites her lip, all sorts of thoughts racing through her head. The girl often thinks about what happened, even if it hurts so much just to do so. She does it anyway, so she can understand _where_ she went wrong, and _what_ she did wrong.

Watching it with her own two eyes had been the most haunting thing to her. No, it isn't the fact that she came to _despise_ the keyboard, only playing out of obligation. It'd been _watching_ the horrific scene unfold in front of her. She wishes it'd been a nightmare, even though she knows all too well that it's very much the harsh truth.

As usual, she can't seem to get it out of her head. Well, she doesn't think she ever can, in the first place. Instead, she closes her eyes, not bothering to wipe the tears that continue to fall, as she so painstakingly remembers.

* * *

_The sound of a few notes being played rings out in the room. An innocent young girl with curious, youthful red eyes sits on the floor, cross legged, as she happily listens to the full, melodic sounds coming from the piano. She fails, however, to notice her mother's exhaustion. The older woman, hunched over the black and white keys, is clearly stressed and tired. Her breathing is rapid, as if she just ran a marathon, and her eyes are blown wide open. Her fingers suddenly stop, and the woman can't seem to move them at all. She makes a choked noise, one that is definitely not normal, and only then does her daughter realize what's happening._

_"Mom?!!"_

_Her mother coughs loudly, a cold sweat forming on her forehead, "I...I'm fine, Reona," she coughs again, "I just don't think I can play more...!"_

_Without warning, her entire body begins to spasm furiously. The woman feels so dizzy, like the whole world around her is spinning. A sharp pain blows up in her chest, and although the woman tries to cry out in pain, her breath gets stuck in her throat. Her head throbs with pain, and it's like the blood in her body is boiling over, her heart about to burst at any time--_

_Something in her body switches off and short-circuits, and she goes limp._

_Reona gasps, hands flying to her mother's shoulders immediately as she tries to shake the older woman awake. Tears have begun to form in Reona's eyes as realization dawns on her._

_"Mom, Mom? Please say something! Anything!"_

_There is silence. Her mother does not reply back, much to her despair. "Come on, Mom! Tell me this is a lie...tell me you're joking!"_

_No one tells her it's just a joke. Hands shaking, Reona's legs fail her. She slumps to the floor, fingers gripping the wooden frame of the chair. Her body trembles as she's racked with sorrow, a shudder passing through her. She openly cries, and her sobbing is loud and clear. Her father does not hear it, but she's grateful for that - no one but her is present to see this terrible picture. She shakily gets to her feet, hand cupping the cheek of her now lifeless mother. It's cold to the touch. Reona's face visibly pales._

_It'd been so sudden; how did it happen? Why did it happen? So many questions race through her head at once, and she can't take it. She shouldn't have asked her mother to play something for her, like she always did. She should've noticed her exhaustion earlier. She should've been more considerate, she should've asked her mother to rest, Reona knows how busy she always is. But instead..._

_Reona storms up to the piano, the same one her suddenly-dead mother sits before. This_ _is all her fault. This happened because of her ignorance...no_ _, this is the piano's fault._ _Reona's mom had been overworked because of it. She died, and it's because of the piano. If such a stupid thing didn't exist, none of this would've happened...!!_

 _With a loud cry, she slams her fist on top of the keys, creating a disgustingly dissonant sound that assaults her ears. It's nothing like the melodic, beautiful songs she's so used to hearing, but she does not pound the keys a second time._ _The sound of her breathing fills the empty air as she stands back upright, trying to collect herself just a little._

 _Her hand curls into a fist as she turns away and walks off to fetch her phone to call the ambulance._ _She has to do something about the body._ _It's the least she can do, she thinks, as she grits her teeth._

_She hates the piano, and more than anything else, she hates herself._

* * *

As Reona's fingers press against the keys, she distantly observes the people leaving the cafe. It's quite late, but her shift demands her to stay until closing hours. No one really pays much attention to her, and that's fine with her. Of course, she does get a few glances, probably at her strange fashion style. Still, though, she doesn't care. The sounds of the instrument grate against her ears and she wishes she didn't have to do this. It's really the only thing she can do relatively well, unfortunately, which is why she even has this job in the first place. It pays her quite well, luckily, so that makes it slightly better. It gives her a reason to even bother picking up the keyboard.

From the corner of her eye, she catches someone walking in instead of going out, much to her interest. The little girl, she can't be more than 14 years old, doesn't even bother ordering something from the counter. Instead, she walks over to an empty table especially near to the stage and sits on it. She doesn't even sit _on the chair_ , her legs dangling off the edge of the round table. She looks at Reona and actually addresses her.

"What are you waiting for?" Her voice is loud, confident and clear, "Keep going. I wish to hear more of your playing."

It's only at that moment when Reona realizes she'd stopped her movements while looking at the young girl. She cautiously nods and continues, all too aware of sky-blue eyes piercing her, intently watching and listening to her performance. She wonders how the girl can hear her while wearing those black and white cat-ear headphones, but frankly she looks adorable with them, and Reona isn't about to question it.

As she continues playing, she strangely feels more motivated as the girl listens to her with utmost attention. A tiny smirk finds its way onto the girl's face, and Reona somehow finds herself getting distracted, focusing on the girl instead of on the keyboard. She takes note of how the young student taps her fingers against the table in time with the music, the way her long, light pink hair moves when she nods her head lightly to the beat. There's a small spark in her eyes, but Reona can't quite identify it. Inspiration? Determination? Happiness? It's intriguing, to say the least.

In her distraction, the song is over before she knows it, and she lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding for quite a while. She wipes the sweat from her forehead, and inevitably, the girl hops off the table and walks to the very front of the stage, brown school shoes tapping loudly against the floor.

"Quite the interesting performance, but you still lack something," she remarks flatly, "tell me, do you enjoy playing the keyboard?"

Reona freezes. No, she doesn't, she _hates_ it. All at once, it comes back to her.

"I...no. I don't, not really." She dislikes admitting it. Although...at the same time, she had been so distracted, so intrigued by this one school student, to the point where she'd forgotten about her grudges towards the keyboard and the dullness of her life. How did this girl see through her so easily?

Only then does she realizes that the cafe's about to close. The two even hear someone from the counter yell at them to hurry up and leave so they can close the store. The girl sighs, rummaging through her uniform blazer's pocket, and pulls out a business card with a cute cat motif. She hands the card to Reona, who has to actually bend down to take it from her. "Here, take this. It's got my phone number and information on it."

Bringing the card closer to her face to get a better look, she reads what's written on the card. 'Producer, CHU2'. Below it, in much smaller text, is written 'Tamade Chiyu'. So that's her name? Reona figures she might prefer to be called by her producer name, or whatever it's called.

"What am I to do with this?"

"I have a proposal for you." Before Reona can clarify, she's cut off, "Unfortunately, however, I must take my leave. We can discuss the details next time."

"Next time?"

Chiyu smiles, "Of course. You don't mind if I come back, right? I'd like to hear you play again soon."

"No, that's fine."

 _"Sweet, excellent!_ I'll see you around, then. Good night!" Chiyu bounces off, exiting the store and leaving Reona alone. She hears the cafe manager yell at her to leave again, to her slight irritation, and moves to pack her stuff. As she does so, she wonders what Chiyu meant by 'proposal.'

She doesn't let it simmer for too long, though, as she cleans up and gets the hell out of the store in record time, not wanting to keep the manager waiting for her. As she walks out to the street, she can't ignore the countless questions she has about Chiyu. Why did Chiyu bring up the proposal? What does Reona even have to offer in exchange, whatever it is? She'd seemed so sure about her decision. The keyboardist ponders over what she had meant and what Reona had just gotten herself into.

* * *

Taking one more good look at her computer screen, Chiyu frowns. Projected on it is a music score, with the parts of various instruments neatly printed on the document. She sighs to herself. The biggest, most important instrument of her new song is the keyboard, and yet it's the one of the _only_ instruments that's missing in her band. She has yet to find a keyboardist that suits her tastes, and she refuses to keep looking for much longer. A small groan escapes her lips as she spins around in her tall, black leather seat, elbow pressed against the armrest. She internally thinks of all the different keyboardists she'd visited - none of them seemed good enough. They had lacked the passion and the drive that she wants.

Then she remembers the girl she'd watched only yesterday.

Out of those that she has scouted so far, the teenager has come the closest to meeting Chiyu's expectations. The skill certainly had been there. If she had been scouting based on ability alone, she would've made it. But yet, that girl...she lacks _something._ When Chiyu had watched her performance, the sounds that were being played seemed...empty. Lifeless. As if the girl had no purpose to play the keyboard. What possessed Chiyu to even bring up the offer of scouting, even she doesn't know. She can't go back on it, though - she _does_ want to hear the girl's playing again.

And maybe, if she doesn't have a reason to play, she could give her one?

That is the purpose of her band, RAISE A SUILEN; to bring to the world a brand new era of bands and change the world with her glorious music. Searching for the best players, those with the most potential. To help her achieve her goals, giving them a new motive. And with the band, she would raise the curtains on a new beginning. If Chiyu can give that girl a cause to play the keyboard for, that's where her sound will truly shine. And when that happens...it'll be absolutely _perfect!_

Chiyu excitedly pulls her phone out, legs kicking back and forth in anticipation. Now that she knows where the girl works at, with her intellect, it'll be child's play to contact the cafe and ask them a few things. She _would_ prefer somewhere more private this time...after all, the two's next meeting might change the fate of her band!

* * *

The door to her mother's room creaks loudly as Reona pushes the door open and walks in, steps soft and hesitant. Although her father is not in like always, she makes sure to shut the door behind her, just for security's sake. She looks around the room. It hasn't changed ever since _that_ day, for she had never dared to enter after her mother's sudden and untimely death.

Instinctively, she's drawn to the large grand piano that sits in the center of the room. Dust cakes the entire piano, for not a single person set foot in this room, much less touched the piano, except for her mother. She walks over to the wooden chair, dusty and old, and carefully brushes most of it off before she sits down. Reona gulps nervously, giving herself a small pep talk that this is for memories' sake and nothing more. Reaching over, she removes the red piano key cover, letting it slip to the floor, revealing the unchanged set of black and white keys, pristine like it always had been. It's the only part of the piano that hasn't been too affected by neglect.

She places her fingers on the keys, tension racing through her body, and she decides to play an old melody, the very same one her mother had been playing when she died so unexpectedly. Pressing down on the keys, the sounds and tones mix together and meld into one song, memories flashing in Reona's head as she continues to play. Oddly, she imagines her mother standing by her side, holding her hands and guiding them across the keyboard. It makes Reona feel satisfied and at peace, rather than trying to close her heart up and feeling more disgusted with herself.

As she plays, carried by a strange sensation she doesn't understand at all, she doesn't even hear the small giggle that drifts in from the open window. Only when the last note is held down and eventually fades away, does Reona finally break out of her trance. She looks over to the windowsill, where a certain producer precariously sits on, kicking her legs back and forth lazily, long, light pink hair swaying in the wind. Reona screams in shock, although she distantly thinks about how cute Chiyu looks sitting on the sill, but she's more concerned about something else.

"H-how did you get in here?!"

Chiyu hops off, landing on the ground with a soft thud. She smirks, "Your window was open, a perfect chance for me. As for how I got here? That was no problem! I simply had to call the cafe you work at and ask them a few things."

Frankly, Reona doesn't know what to say to that. Chiyu did request to see her again, and she did agree. So, she really shouldn't be too surprised.

"So...what brings you here today?"

The young producer's eyebrows furrow, as if the question is incredibly stupid. "What? I thought I told you about this the last time. I wanted to listen to your piano playing! Although the instrument I would like you to play is the keyboard, I'm sure you could adapt!"

She certainly could, for she plays both instruments interchangeably. Shifting slightly in her chair, Reona shakes her head, "I guess I did. So, is there anything in particular you would like me to play?"

"Yes! I do, actually." Chiyu pulls out a small, black cat-shaped sound recorder from her blazer pocket and walks over to Reona's side. "This is my latest composition. Try playing along to this!"

Reona nods, moving her chair closer to the piano, and waits for Chiyu to start the music. She's quite curious as to what Chiyu has in mind, and what kind of music she'd composed.

And when Chiyu presses the play button and the music begins, ringing loudly in the room, Reona isn't so sure as to what's even going on.

Her fingers seemingly move automatically, dancing along the black and white keys with even less effort than she ever had to put in while playing. She thinks about Chiyu's mysterious little proposition, and all that's on her mind as she plays is her mother, watching her from afar, smiling proudly.

She plays with more passion than she ever had as her head is filled with those thoughts, a determination and motivation she'd never known before filling her whole body. Her movements are entirely driven on autopilot, and the exhilaration she feels is like nothing she's ever experienced. Yes, her performance is absolutely flawless - she knows it is.

As she presses the keys in time with Chiyu's music, she wonders if there's something special about her. She can't deny it; she'd already found it strange that she couldn't stop thinking about the kid that day, to the point where she got distracted by it. Chiyu's presence is so magnetic, so powerful, like the way she proudly carries herself. Reona admires that. She wishes she could be like Chiyu. Confident, self-assured. She really is an interesting person.

The music stops too soon for Reona's liking. When she looks over at Chiyu, said producer's lips are curled into a small smile, blue eyes sparkling in approval. She's the first to break the silence.

"Amazing! _That's_ what I've been looking for, that spirit, that intensity! I certainly don't doubt you, not anymore," Chiyu grins as she offers a hand to Reona, "and about that proposal...see, I've been searching for people with the ambition to help me in my goal: to change this world with the power of my music! Our band is known as RAISE A SUILEN. The song's name is R・I・O・T: it can mean many things. A rebellion, an insurrection, an overturn...turmoil. You could feel it too, right? Standing on the world's greatest stage, playing the very songs that I create, bringing them to life! So, if you don't have a purpose in life to play for...let me give you one! How about it? Will you join me?"

If Reona could redeem herself and make up for the mistakes she made back then by playing better than anyone else, she'll do that. If it'll give her life some form of meaning, there's no way she'll let the chance slip away. She wants to know more. If joining the band means she could one day come to forget her mother's death and move on, experiencing the same rush of adrenaline she just did while playing along to Chiyu's music, there's no way she can say no. The answer immediately spills out, with no hesitation whatsoever. She takes the offered hand, gripping firmly.

"I'd love to."

For the first time in what seems like forever, Reona has a large, genuine smile on her face, which only grows as she watches Chiyu bounce up and down happily in excitement.

"Really?! Wonderful!" She exclaims happily, then stops for a moment. "By the way...I don't think I ever asked you for your name. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Reona can't help but feel a little dumb for forgetting to introduce herself as a lightbulb goes off in her head.

"Oh! Right, sorry. I'm Nyubara Reona. Nice to meet you, uhh..."

Chiyu raises an eyebrow, shaking her head, "Did you forget already? I thought I gave you my business card. Call me CHU2!"

"Is that your real name, or...?"

"No, of course not! In my band, we all have stage names. You know, to add a little flair!" Chiyu dramatically motions with her hands, "And you, being the latest addition to the group, deserve to have one too! We can discuss and choose your new moniker together the next time we see each other, which would be your first practice session."

Practice, huh? Reona wonders what the other members of the band are like. 

"I'm excited to meet everyone!"

"You'll love it, I'm sure. After all, everyone in the band is just like you! I think you'll fit right at home!" Chiyu spins around, making her way towards the still-open windowsill to leave. She takes one more look at Reona over her shoulder, "I must take my leave now, but I will see you very, very soon. I look forward to working with you!"

Reona doesn't have time to reply, for Chiyu is already using a nearby stool to climb up to the sill, and without allowing the keyboardist to do or say anything, she gives a small wave before disappearing behind the walls, leaving Reona alone in the room once again. She swears that she can still hear Chiyu's chipper voice ringing in her ears.

Everything that just occurred had happened so fast, Reona can hardly believe it. This morning, she'd woken up thinking she could have a rest and rekindle some old memories, both for the best and for the worst, and before she knows it, she's now a part of RAS. She's part of Chiyu's grand ambitions, and has something to look forward to in life now thanks to her.

Sitting before the years-old grand piano, all alone save for the whistling wind that blows through the open window, Reona smiles to herself again, and she can't seem to stop, her face illuminated by the shining sun of day. Even though there's no one to hear her, she says her next words with a gratefulness she'd never thought possible.

"Thank you, for pulling me out of the darkness."

**Author's Note:**

> Legit I lack the brain cells required to come up with motivational speech so the whole thing about R・I・O・T was taken from the RAS manga
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this (especially you, Lae!!) and thank you very much! See you soon!


End file.
